To Love Somebdy
by THXXX11138
Summary: Dipper and Mabel share their final memories together. Set in 2034.


**To Love Somebody**

The light din of passing automobiles awoke Dipper Pines from his shallow rest. Rubbing his eyes, he peered around and took note of his surrounding. The smell of Clorox and cleaning supplies filled his nostrils with discomfort. The blinding white walls enhanced the sickening sense of sanitation.

_Not a place for the living._

Beside him laid his confidant in life, the person that had been his other half since birth.

Mabel Pines breathed slowly with shallow, hollowed breaths. Her eyes were dark and exhausted. Her chocolate brown hair that once radiated in rich splendor from her head was now gone. The ruddy cheeks from her youth were substituted for pale pasty-yellow skin.

Many IV cords ran into her body while a small computer kept track of her vitals. Surrounding her were many arrangements of flowers and cards from friends and relatives. They all related the same message. _Get well soon. You're the Best. We Love You. You were the Best Teacher I ever had_

On her nightstand were three pictures. One was her first elementary school class when she became a teacher. She was wearing a plain gray sweatshirt that was plastered in hand prints of different colors and blots of paint. Surrounding her were over a dozen children with macaroni art in their hands. Another was a photograph of their late Uncle Stan sitting on the hood of his old Cadillac in his prime. His huge arms were crossed against his barrel chest while he wore blue jeans and harness boots. The final picture was of Mabel and Himself on his beloved black 1967 Chevrolet Impala. She was wearing a flowery skirt and a Red sweater with the words _Heavy Chevy_ in AC/DC style Font. Dipper was wearing his signature red flannel button shirts with a blue tee reading Cal Arts in yellow block letters. Bellow in small scribbled print: Summer 2025.

Dipper picked up the final picture and gazed on. It was the year Mabel became a teacher and two years before Stan passed away. They were visiting their uncle for a weekend in the woods in late July. A month earlier Dipper became a storyboard artist on the _Adventures of Pancake_ with two friends of his, Wardon Pendleton and J Q Guintel. Now they were making shows of their own: _Odyssey Time_ and _Ordinary Program_.

Setting the picture down. Dipper returned his gaze towards his sister. Her breaths remained stable with a consistent pattern. The only hitch was the agonizing wheezing when she inhaled. She would hold the breath for a few seconds before exhaling. Besides her breathing she did not move.

**Ring….Ring….Ring….Ring….**

Dipper stood up and walked over to the small utilitarian style phone on the other side of the room. Picking up the phone, Dipper directed his eyes to his sister, then toward the wall itself.

In an exhausted tone "Hello?"

"Dipper, how is she?" _Wendy. Thank goodness. Someone I need to talk to._

"Hey Wendy. She is sleeping… Right now…"

"…What did the doctors say?"

Sighing Dipper slowly leaned against the wall with one hand. Using the other positioned on his hip he placed the hone on his shoulder and pressed it against his ear.

"Not good Wendy…the doctors," unaware, Dipper slowly began to lightly sob into the telephone. "The doctors don't know. It's all over her…and they said it was a matter of…" Dipper stopped himself. He could not bring himself to use that three-letter word.

Concerned about her husband nine hundred miles away, Wendy attempted to subdue her emotions while she talked "Dude, you want me to come down. You know Soos and Melody will watch Ty while I'm gone. It's just a matter of hopping on a plane and going."

Removing the hand from his hip and rubbing one eye. "Wendy, I love you, but, I don't think…I don't…I don't know." Slowly dipper began to release his emotions over the telephone. Nine months of restrained feeling and thought began to seep. Wendy, beyond concern, only listed to her best friend start to crumble on the other end.

"Dipper...Dipper... listen to me. I'm coming. Give me a few minutes to pack and I'll hop in my car. I'll be down in a few hours.

Chuckling slightly despite the tears "You know that old Mustang of yours won't make it South."

Brightening slightly to hear her future husband's humor return, Wendy responded, "Don't worry, nothing can kill the 65'… Listen, I'll be down tonight. It's nine now, I'll be on the road by ten and down in San Francisco by eight. Deal?"

"Deal…There's a reason I knew you were the one."

"That what I was thinking too. I love you Dip."

"I love you too Wendy. You don't know how much I do."

"Me too. Listen, Ty is right now on his trike outside and Soos is on the roof. I'll call as soon as I am on the road."

"Deal. Drive safe, okay."

"I will." Pausing for a moment Wendy looked out the widow of the shack. The sun was beating down against the bright hues of the summer trees. Outside she watched their toddler son with cinnamon hair ride around in circles in the Shack's empty parking lot. The shack had been closed for over two weeks. "And Dipper, Everything will be okay."

"Okay," his voice cracked slightly. Yet he did not notice. Some things are paramount over others.

"See ya."

"See you sooner." Dipper slowly raised his hand and placed the head set onto the phone's cradle. The moment the plastic touched a cough echoed in the small room. Dippers eyes darted as his sister was woke up.

"Dipper," Mabel croaked, blindingly trying to grasp something.

Dipper dashed from across the room and landed into his chair. Cautiously he reached over to return Mabels' gesture. Her hands were surprising warm, almost hot to touch.

_The cancer is eating everything up…_

"Mabel, I'm right here."

"Dipper. My Dippinsauce."

_**Cough Cough Cough.**_

Each cough sounded fatigued and shorter before dying off. "Dipper, I don't think there is much left in me."

"Mabel, please don't say that. Please!"

"Dipper," placing her other hand on top of her brother's, "It okay. It's okay."

"Please Mabel. Don't give up. Don't…"

"Dipper there is nowhere for me to go. Really." Mabel rolled over and peered out the widow. Outside the sun was slowly rolling over the many hills of San Francisco. In the foreground the orange towers of the Golden Gates pieced into the morning sky. The light tones of orange soaked the morning air while the cascading flows of purple and blue began to fade towards the east. Repeating herself "There is nowhere else to go. Might as well meet the angels."

Hearing her sister's remark Dipper lowered his head. He slumped and kneeled beside the bed crying into the covers.

"Dipper, Stop. Please. Dipper, look up."

Dipper barley raised his head before a finger pocked his nose

"Boop."

Dipper peered into Mabel's eyes. The fatigue remained, but a sense of peace was etched into her face. Despite her condition she was relaxed.

"Dipper Orion Pines, listen. Just because I'm going doesn't mean you should stop…"

"But Mabel…what…what will I be without you. You were my best friends when I had none. You always supported me. You were the one who told me to continue Art school. You were the one who told me to go to the meeting with the Disney people to pitch my show…what would I be without you?"

Mabel placed a hand on both sides of Dippers head and weakly guided his eyes to her own. "Dipper, I was not the one who did those things. You did. I only suggested them," _Cough_ "You were the one who acted. Beside what about Wendy or that little kid of yours… Dipper, you will be fine."

Dipper looked into her eyes. Mabel could tell he had probably not slept in over two days. His face had dirty fuzz, his eyes were dark pools, and shirts were dirty.

_God he looks so much like Stan. _She though. His hair was just as wild, but he had gained tremendously in size. His nose was smaller than Stan's, and his hair was lighter, but their late uncle's strong chin and build were evident. He was now even larger than Stan in his prime.

"Dipper, do you remember my favorite song?"

"What…?"

"My favorite song silly" _cough_ "The one I sang at your wedding."

"Don't Start Unbelieving?"

"No!." The answer lacked the energy and snap it once had. If she was healthier, Mabel would have jumped into the air and done some sort of strange choreograph piece mid air.

"The one we always listed to on Dad's record player. The yellow album?"

Suddenly the memory jolted into Dipper's weary mind_. The Bee Gees Greatest Hits_. The album with the four Gibb Brothers before Marty died and the group became famous.

"To Love Somebody?"

"Yes that one. Can you sing it to me?"

Dipper gave a questioning expression towards his sister.

"Why?"

"Because I know you can sing it doofus. I know you can. Remember Graduation night. You stood up and sang a perfect cover of Barry Gibb."

Blushing slightly and placing a wandering hand behind his head "I don't really remember."

"Come on Dipper." Mabel's tone became a little serious. "You could always hit higher pitches that me. And no one had to hit you in the privates"

Looking into his sister's eyes, Dipper saw that heart melting face that made him do anything for her. Her brown eyes became large with a light-pleading look splashed in them.

"For me Dipper?"

"All right, all right. You win."

Dipper stood up and returned to his seat. Pushing the chair closer to his sister, he placed one hand on top of her own. Mabel weakly smiled and returned the gesture.

_There's a light  
>A certain kind of light<br>That never shone on me  
>I want my life to be lived with you<br>Lived with you_

There's a way  
>Everybody say<br>To do each and every little thing  
>But what does it bring<br>If I ain't got you, ain't got?

While singing, Dipper shared a psychic moment with his sister. It was as if the two connected and viewed their greatest memories together. Dipper sat in awe as tears streamed down his face. He saw one of his earliest memories with his sister. It was her pointing out towards the San Francisco Bay when they were crossing the huge, gothic, iron -grey Richmond- Oakland Bridge. Her pigtails were fluttering wildly in the wind as she smiled towards her brother "I want to paint the bridge purple."

_Hey, yeah, you don't know what it's like  
>Baby, you don't know what it's like<br>To love somebody  
>To love somebody<br>The way I love you  
><em>

He saw the end of their first summer together with Stan. He saw their first day in High School. He saw the sun setting in the Monument Valley when the two took Wendy on a camping trip in Utah. He viewed their graduation when Mabel shot her confetti canon into the crowd, screaming "Free at last, free at last. Thank god I'm free at last!"

_There's my brain  
>I see your face again<br>I know my frame of mind  
>You ain't got to be so blind<br>And I'm blind, so, so, so very blind  
><em>

He watched Mabel jump up and down in glee when he told her he was going to be a father.

_I'm a man  
>Can't you see what I am?<br>I live and breathe for you  
>But what good does it do<br>If I ain't got you, ain't got ?  
><em>

Dipper saw Mabel holding his baby in her arms. He watched as Mable power shifted her VW Bug up one gear straight into oncoming traffic. He saw her sitting into front of the television set at the shack, waiting for the premiere of Dipper's series _Gravity Falls_. Finally. He saw her standing in the moonlight on top of the Shack, staring at the stars.

_Hey, yeah, you don't know what it's like  
>Baby, you don't know what it's like<br>To love somebody  
>To love somebody<br>The way I love you  
><em>  
><em>Yeah, you don't know what it's like<br>Baby, you don't know what it's like  
>To love somebody<br>To love somebody  
>The way I love you<br>_

"I love you Dipper."

"I love you Mabel."

Slowly Mabel lowered her head and leaned against her brother. Breathing in, Mabel looked up to Dipper and smiled. Dipper returned the gesture, and kissed her on the forehead.

Slowly she closed her eyes and exhaled.

Dipper sat there for a long time, holding onto his sister's body and smiling. The sun peaked out over the hills and bathed both of them in a fuzzy yellow glare.

Author Note:

Did you get the references?


End file.
